


Caves

by RennTheMage



Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 07:58:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10635606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RennTheMage/pseuds/RennTheMage
Summary: "If there was one thing Koh could easily admit, it was her hatred of caves. Yet here she was."Just a small fic about a women who needs more love. Subtle references to a certain story that is totally canon





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Girl with Purple Hair](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10082417) by [Elfy (elfowlgirl)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfowlgirl/pseuds/Elfy). 



If there was one thing Koh could easily admit, it was her hatred for caves.

Yet here she was, in the dampest, coldest and most cramped cave she ever had the misfortune to stay in. Thankfully, or not, she was in the company of dreadfully familiar people all shoehorned into the same dreadfully familiar situation.

They were all bundled together in the farthest, darkest corner they could find, watching the sun fall painfully slow behind the hills. Its light just barely visible through the dark fluffy clouds that had been peppering the land with waves upon waves of rainfall for at least five hours prior.

Bishley, the only member of the group lathered in ropes, writhed behind Koh and Nym, trying and failing to make himself comfortable. With a sigh that came from held breath, he stopped. Bishley glanced to his left, seeing Chauncey holding one end of the rope that entangled his body. He never realised just how small Chauncey was, but now with the 'dwarf' standing and himself slumped against the wall, he marvelled at how he was still far taller than the man. Bishley set his eyes on the caves entrance, following the head snaps and twitches of his companions in front.

"I assume you're watching for guards and not because the view is nice, yes?" He mumbled, prompting a startled noise from Nym, who soon peered over his right shoulder to look at the prince.

"...Yes, Bishley, that's what we're doing," Nym spoke significantly quieter than the other. Bishely nodded slightly before the boy continued in a calmer voice, speaking to no one in particular and facing the entrance, "Once the sun goes down, we should be able to set up camp without too much hassle. We just need to stay far away from the entrance, I don't doubt there will be search parties around for days."

Koh stood up and stretched her legs slightly, her dress trailing on the floor before she rose completely. It left a large wet smear on the back and around the bottom. She moved her hands to her hair and began untying the ridiculous plait made from the strands usually to the sides of her face. She brushed the excess out of her eyes before motioning to Chauncey.

"I presume you have my clothes? I'm not going to be stuck in this dress for much longer, right Chauncey?" she glared at him until he produced a satchel. She gave him a condescending smile before moving further down the cave to change.

Not even an hour before they settled in the cave, Koh had infiltrated a Kuravian kingdom Bishley was visiting for business transactions and ally-ship with the Varanovans. Posing as a new servant to the kingdom, she managed to gain the trust of the higher ups enough to perform small tasks that eventually got her into Bishleys quarters. She swiftly tied him up and teleported away using Nyms magic a mere 5 minutes after.

It was possibly just anger, but she quickly marked that as one of the worst months of her life.

Koh sauntered over, now dressed in her usual attire, and took a seat next to Nym once more. After another hour of cautious watching, the sun finally disappeared below the hills, prompting the moon to arise and the night to begin at last. Nym perked up and wandered further inside the cave until he considered it safe enough to start a fire. With the help of Koh, and Chauncey pulling on his end of the rope irritatingly hard, the others managed to follow him.

The fire Nym had managed to start was strikingly bright. Magic was no doubt involved in it's creation, Koh only wondered what it was. Perhaps a powder was sprinkled onto the twigs and leaves Nym had in his pouch that made them more potent. A spoken incantation was also feasible, possibly even more likely than anything else. Despite the fact that she herself was not magical, Koh still payed close attention to others way of magic. Nyms was very personal, ever word and movement was from his own body and envisioned with his own mind. His spells were very powerful, which prompted Koh to imagine just how strong he could be. She shivered at the thought. Nyms magic was already exceedingly paramount and monumental, and he himself was very profound.

"You alright there Koh? Not gonna take a seat or somethin'?" Chauncey questioned, forcing Koh to snap back into focus.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to get so lost in thought." Koh put on her best smile and sat down between Chauncey and Nym. 

"No need to apologise, kid. Happens all the time." Chauncey attempted to, unnecessarily, reassure Koh. She made no indication of caring and placed her hands in her lap.  
"Right. I'd say we have around four hours until it's midnight, by that time most of the kingdom will have gone to sleep and the search parties will be smaller. We're around 5 miles outside of it's walls, and this cave is mostly covered by grass and dirt, so I think we're safe to sleep once that time comes." Nym mused aloud.

"We're gonna need someone to watch while the rest of us sleep, right kid?" Chauncey asked, sounding uneasy.

"Of course, I'm not stupid." Nym retorted, sounding more offended than he needed to be.

"Well then, to kill the time, I propose that we play truth or dare!" Bishley exclaimed through the fabric covering his mouth. Koh swiftly removed it, earning a whispered 'thank you, friend' from him. Chauncey and Nym both gave him bewildered looks before he chuckled and continued.

"Oh course you wouldn't know what it is. I apologise my friends."

"What's with all the apologising, we're a racketeering group not a bunch a' children." Chauncey grumbled to himself while Bishley continued with his explanation.

"Truth or Dare is a game played be royal offspring to pass the time between their, rather boring, lives. Everyone sits in a circle and something long, preferably a bottle, is placed in the centre on it's side. One child spins the bottle, and whoever it lands on must choose either Truth or Dare. They must always answer their question truthfully, and are allowed to skip 1 dare-"

"I'm gonna stop ya right there because that sounds like a load of bull if I'm frank with ya Bishley," Chauncey interrupted, "how 'bout we just, I don't know, tell stories? Maybe drink some of the alcohol I brought." He whipped a few bottles of wine and ale out of his sack and plopped them in front of him with a wide grin. The clang emanated throughout the cave.

Koh blinked, then pinched the bridge of her nose, "Chauncey...where did you get those?" She spoke, a heavy strain in her voice.

"I just saw 'em in the castles kitchen and, y'know, thought they looked lonely so I took 'em with me." Koh gave him a hard glare, "Don't look like that, I'll return them! ...Just as soon as they're empty." Koh sighed heavily and shook her head in obvious disapproval before addressing the rest of the group.

"So, does anyone else have any idea as to what we will do to kill time?"

Nym piped up, "I kinda liked that story telling idea. If you don't mind of course." This earned a noise of celebration from Chauncey and an exaggerated eye-roll from Koh.  
"Not at all Nym, so long as I don't go first." Her words carried a tone of emphasised kindness that made Nym chuckle uneasily.

The group surrounded the campfire, distributing the various liquor and using their bags as makeshift chair backs to sit comfortably. Nym was the only one left without booze in his hands, as he continuously insisted that he wasn't able to drink. Many excuses were thrown around, from saying he's not of age to claiming he would fall into a coma if he took even a sip. No one wanted to admit that they didn't believe him, so they stopped pestering.

Chauncey billowed, at least mildly drunk, "So! Whose goin' first?" Before anyone could reply, he interrupted, "Eyyy, I'll go first! Now let's see," Chauncey placed his free hand on his face, resting his chin between his thumb and finger. "I know! How about that time I made out with a corpse."

Chauncey ranted on about his endeavours in the Vault of Wonder, going into disturbing amounts of detail when describing the kiss. Thankfully he mentioned the fact that he made out with an unconscious man before he was murdered. Partially to correct his story, partially so no one would call him a necrophiliac.

"Alright, alright, alright, enough about me. What about," he extended the last syllable to exaggerate his thinking process, "Koh! I, myself, Chauncey, have always wondered why you became a magician. You don't have any fancy magics or whatever. Hell, the most inhuman thing I've seen you do is tie yaself, an imp and a horse to that barrel in, what, 5 seconds?" Koh cringed, remembering that day vividly.

"Well, to put it simply, I became a magician because of my parents." Koh straightened her back farther, giving off a forced look of pride.

Nym waved his hands in a vague motion, "Go on..."

Koh sighed a sagged slightly, "I became a magician because my parents were both magic users. I was that rare anomaly of an un-gifted child born from two gifted parents."  
The air around the camp felt still yet unsettled, no one knew what to do or say until Bishley chimed in, sounding genuinely interested.

"So, you became a magician to show your parents that you could also become magical, yes?" He questioned.

Koh smiled sheepishly, "It was more along the lines of prove to them that I could become magical. My relationship with my parents was like walking on ice that became thinner and thinner, yet you were the cause."

Nym raised an eyebrow, "I never really pegged you as the type to become attached to people or ideas. How long did that go on for anyway?"

"Not long. I began at 14, learning simple card and coin tricks while moulding my silver tongue to it's most effective. During that time, my patience with my parents was wearing thin. I had constantly asked why I couldn't perform the magic they could. Soon enough their patience was lost too." Koh's eyes softened for a moment, "My father was more accepting of my endeavours than my mother. He witnessed every show, applauded every trick with the widest grin even if he knew it was fake. I went from predicting coin tosses to cutting men in half and making stacks of books disappear. He even made me my first costume, it was perfect. I wore it every day until no longer fit me, which was a few months before my arrest."

The camp fell silent. No one had expected so much information out of a woman who liked to keep to herself. After a long moment of disquiet, Bishley spoke through the thickening tension.

"Do your parents have purple hair? What about lavender eyes?" He smiled innocently.

Koh burst into a near fit of laughter, the questions striking her as surprisingly childish. Especially coming from someone of royalty. 

Once she had calmed down enough to talk, she answered, "No, neither of my parents had those traits. Though they were both dark haired."

Bishley cocked his head to the side, smiling wide, "Will we meet them someday. It would be splendid to meet your family!"

"No, they're probably long gone by this point. You might have already seen them walking through any old marketplace. I don't doubt they're still adventuring-"

"They're adventurers?" Nym interjected, his voice filled with awe, "Are they like those weird men we met at that shabby bar about a year ago?" he spoke quizzically.

After a moments reserve, Koh replied with an air of reluctance, "You know what, you're probably more right than you think, Nym. I wouldn't put it past them to visit such a...dilapidated place." she smiled her usual arrogant smile. Nym and Bishley nodded contentedly as the echoing sound of an empty bottle of wine hit the cold floor beside them. Chauncey rocked slightly in his spot, as happy as a clown.

As the night continued on and more tales of grandeur were told, Koh reminisced on her once repressed childhood. The day she invented her new persona, Kokura the Magnificent. The first performance that both of her parents attended. Her fathers smile, as bright as his sun-dripped locks. Her mothers wisdom, that which is unmatched by any philosopher or monk. The ocean, her boat, looking back at the bar one last time before setting forth for a new life. A better life. A life as Koh Kura. No longer under her parents shadow.

The thing that put her here. Meeting her parents again, seeing how young they were.

The flames died down as her nostalgia faded. Chauncey pulled out blankets from a bag resting beside him and handed one to the others, nearly catching Bishleys on fire. Nym volunteered to be on first watch. Once they had all settled, and the moon as at its highest, the gentle breaths of peaceful sleeps befell the cave. Before passing out, Koh couldn't help but smile.

For if there was one Koh could easily admit, it was her hatred for caves. Yet this was much greater than what she had before.

**Author's Note:**

> Before it's commented on, Koh's inconsistent story was intentional!


End file.
